Ambulatory amphitheatre



.Mamh 1955 E. w. HOFFMEISTER 2,703,910

7 AMBULATORY AMPHITHEATRE Filed Jan. 11, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheei 1 AT ORJvE'y March I5; 1955 E W. HOFFMEISTER AMBULATORY AMPHITHEATRE sSheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 11, 1952 March 15, 1955 E. w. HOFFMEISTER 2,

AMBULATORY AMPHITHEATRE I Filed Jan. 11, 1952 3FSheets-Sheet s Fig- @MSMI United States Patent O AMBULATORY AMPHITHEATRE Ernst W. Holfmeister,Munich, Bavaria, Germany Application January 11, 1952, Serial No.266,051

Claims. (Cl. 201.12)

The invention concerns ambulatory amphitheatre structures whereininclined galleries, for audiences composed of stationary and movingspectators, surround an arena or demonstration space on all-sides.

The invention seeks to provide simple and straightforward galleryconstruction which not only enables all the spectators on the gallery toview the arena from all positions, but which also facilitates acontinuous replacement of the audience as required. When the sameperformance is to be repeated in the arena of an ambulatory amphitheatrecontinuously at relatively short time intervals, the economic success ofthe business depends very largely on replacing a considerable part ofthe audience after each performance.

According to the invention, starting from the highest level of theamphitheatre two or more galleries separated from one another bybalustrades extend adjacent one another and spaced from one another invertical disposition in the manner of a multiple passage conical spiral,and are so arranged that the spectators travel round the arena in twoor. more, columns, each column using one of the galleries, beforereaching the exit.

With a ,given holding capacity of the structure, i. c. with a giventotal length of galleries available, the invention considerably shortensthe .path through which the spectators must pass whendescending'fromthehighest level of the amphitheatre 'to the exit. Byarrangement of two adjacent spiral paths separated from one another thispath is halved, by providing three substantially spiral galleries thelength of the path a spectator has to walk down is only one third of thetotal length of the galleries. For a given average walking speed thetime taken by a spectator for the transit through the amphitheatre iscorrespondingly reduced.

Since the arrangement of thepathsin theform of spatial spiralsnecessitates certain constructive complications for the erection of theamphitheatre structure, a simplified form of construction of theinvention is characterised in that individual convolutions of the pathsare circular in plan, and hence descend in. helical lines and in eachcase cross by means of an inclined connection into the next followingnarrower path convolution.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of an ambulatory amphitheatre structureviewed on the line I--[ of Fig. 2;

gig. 2 is a plan of the structure with roof removed; an

3 is a horizontal section on the line III-III of The side wall of theactual amphitheatre housing is formed from stanchions 1 which aredisposed approximately in a circle and stand on beams 2, which aresuitably arranged so as to lie on the earth floor. The wall surfaces 3lying between the stanchions 1 are formed, for example, of sail-clothwhich is stretched between the stanchions. Outside the side walls of theamphitheatre housing the pay ofiice stands on a stage 5, from which agangway 6 in the form of a helical path leads up to and around the wallof the amphitheatre housing and is continued up to the highest level.This gangway comprises at its start the stairs 7 and 8 which aresupported on the floor platform 2 by means of stanchions 9, while theupper part of the path is constituted by an inclined rising runway 10,which is attached by means of 2,703,910 Patented Mar. 15, 1955 abracket-like support structure 11 externally to the main stanchions 1.The whole gangway 6 is covered over by a roof or awning 12, which can beformed of widths of sail-cloth.

At the position at which the spiral path reaches its highest point, itforks into two galleries 13 and 14, which extend adjacent one another asa coincal spiral having multiple paths disposed in mutually spacedheight relationship. These adjacent paths are separated from one anotherby balustrades 15 and 16 so as to prevent the spectators changing paths,and to enable them to rest on or against these balustrades when viewingthe performance. It will be noticed that the galleries 13 and 14 aremuch narrower than the runway 10.

In the example shown, the performance takes place in an upwardly opendrum 17 which is rotatable about a vertical axis 18. The spectators, whoenter the amphitheatre at the beginning of the galleries 13 or 14, areenabled to look down into the rotating drum from all positions on thesetwo galleries.

The kind of exhibition and the construction of apparatus providedtherefor is immaterial as regards the present invention. The drum 17 istherefore indicated only by chain-dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3. It canobviously be replaced by other forms of apparatus.

At the end of the gallery 13, which is disposed-somewhat higher than theadjacent gallery 14, the spectators coming from the gallery 13 arrive byway of a short stair 19 at the level of the gallery 14. After this thespectators coming from both galleries 13 and 14 meet on a main exitplatform 21 (Fig. 3) by way of a wide stair 20.

On platform 21, the exit from the galleries branches. One branchconsists of wide stairs 22 and 23 and an intermediate platform 24 whichlead down to the ground and the open air. Another branch leads down fromthe other side of the platform 21 by way of a stair 25 to a circularpath 26, which lies below the upper edge of the drum 17 and thus enablesspectators to get to the interior of the drum through a door 40 in thevertical wall of the drum, in case some of the spectators may wish toride in the drum. From the round path 26 one arrives by way of the stair27 at the intermediate platform 24 and from there likewise by way of thestair 23 at the exit.

With the example shown the spectators on traversing the galleries 13 and14 move nearly twice around the arena or central field of theamphitheatre formed by the drum 17.

In the illustrated example these paths have circular plan and inclinedcross galleries 28 and29 are provided, which lead from asurrounding-gallery of larger diameter to the adjoining surroundinggallery of smaller diameter.

The galleries 13 and 14 are carried by a suitable support structure 30.At the top the amphitheatre is covered by a roof 31, which likewise canbe formed from stretched sail-cloth.

I claim:

1. An ambulatory amphitheatre comprising a substantially circular arena,a plurality of concentric gallery portions of substantially helicalshape surrounding a major part of the circumference of said arena andbeing so disposed in relation to one another as to form outwardlyascending steps, inclined gallery portions surrounding the remainingminor part of the circumference of said area, each of said inclinedgallery portions connecting one end of a first one of said concentricgallery portions with the opposite end of another one of said concentricgallery portions at least two steps above said first concentric portion.

2. A structure as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an entrance tosaid arena, an exit common to as many concentric gallery portions asthere are steps over which any one of said inclined gallery portionsextends, said exit including two branches, one of said branches leadingto the outside and the other branch being connected to said entrance ofsaid arena.

3. An ambulatory amphitheatre comprising an arena, a plurality ofadjacent separate viewing galleries rising in receding convolutions andin the same direction around said arena, said plurality of gallerieswhen considered in section having the relation of steps outwardlyascending, a common access to and a common exit from said galleries,whereby spectators admitted to the amphitheatre will be caused to travelaround in at least two distinct columns.

4. A structure as claimed in claim 3, said galleries being soconstructed and arranged that all spectators thereon are able to viewthe arena from all positions, said common access being at the upperends, and said common exit being at the lower ends of said galleries,said access and said exit being approximately as wide as the total widthof said galleries.

References Cited in the file of this patent Architectural Form, January1946, page 85.

